Baptized Unto Night
by Becbet
Summary: (AKA: The Misadventures of a Klepto Elf and a Vampire with Mood Swings. That...pretty much describes the whole fic...)
1. Note

A (Relatively) Brief Note:

I first started writing this as a way to dislodge my writer's block, unfortunately, the fic developed a mind of its own and started growing faster than I could type until…I had an entire plotline thought out.  Never one to ignore inspiration, I continued to work on this thing until I had well over twenty pages typed. (It took less than a week to get _just that_. Amazing, no?)  

Anyway, since this was never really a "serious" Morrowind fic to begin with, I decided not to change it, and just let the two main characters scurry about as they pleased, without any regard to a major plot aside from their own twisted relationship.  I don't delve into the main quest of the game (I don't even mention it).  Neither do I delve too far into religion (I never had any patience for it whilst playing and I certainly had no patience for it while I was typing.)  Aside from the fact that this fic _does_ take place in the Morrowind universe, it's almost entirely original, and could very much be read as such.

Places, people, events, and various other oddities might be misspelled, misnamed, or explained/viewed in entirely the wrong way, and I'm sorry about that.  I tried to keep things as accurate as I could (except for the concept of vampires, which I probably screwed over) and I even did a little research to make sure I had things I was iffy about right.  If there are any corrections that anyone thinks should be made, as far as Morrowind terminology goes, _please_ find a way to contact me, be it through email or review, and _let me know_.  I'm quite willing to change mistakes I've made.

Now on to the warnings…

As stated above, this is mostly plotless, long, and at times off-kilter.  This is also a yaoi fanfic (meaning male/male relationships/sexual interaction/whatever) and contains sexual content, vampirism, blood, gore, bad language your mother wouldn't approve of, and other various…things…  If _any_ of these bother you, then simply don't read the fic; it's an option people, just because you clicked on the link doesn't mean you have to stay here.  

Before I leave you in peace, there's one more thing I need to mention, and that is the help of my friend Angela, who kindly read through _every bit of this_ and edited it for me, pointing out both typos and places where she thought slash scenes could have been inserted (but weren't, sorry Angela.)

Sorry for the length of this, but I really felt these things had to be said. (Plus, I had to cover my ass a bit. _Morrowind isn't mine! It belongs to…other people…_)  Enjoy the fic, people, and comment if you can.


	2. Freeing the Damned

**Baptized Unto Night**

**Chapter One: Freeing the Damned**

The tunnels just kept going on and on; Vex was amazed that anything could reach this far underground. Yet…he kept following the descending path, hoping blindly that, yes, it would eventually end and that what he sought would soon be held reluctantly in his hands. Vex swore to himself that after this, he would never do another job for a necromancer again, no matter how much they promised to pay him.

He hated tombs, and he hated the dark, but most of all, he hated things he couldn't see, but knew were there all the same.  Vex was not really a coward, he was not one to run from a fight; he just preferred to see what he was fighting.  Holding his wakizashi out in front of him, the young Dunmer shuffled through the accumulated dust and bone fragments. His light boots crushed the ancient matter and stirred up a cloud of caliginous dust where he trod.  

How long had he been down here? It could have been hours, or days even. Thanks to a few trusty Restore Fatigue potions, he hadn't had to sleep at all since he had entered the tomb. Vex had never had a very reliable internal clock and had no real way of knowing if it was even night or day.  

Vex sighed when he reached the end of yet another corridor, leaning against the wall opposite of a new stairwell.  His torch was almost out and his short blade was heavy in his hand.  His fingers grew lax about it and it slid a ways out of his grip.  The question was whether or not to continue.  He was sure he had chosen the right tomb, and yet he hadn't seen any indication that anything but the wandering undead was held in this place.  All he needed was a single abandoned skull. Was that really such a hard thing to find?

Apparently so, or he would have been able to turn back by now. "Damn horrible place," Vex complained, swiping at dust-leaden cobwebs.  "I'd be better off selling that accursed woman my own head and just be done with it." He sniffed and swung his head to remove the hair from his eyes.  This simple trick worked for mere moments before his shaggy bangs fell, once again, over his face. He sheathed his short blade and pushed the locks behind his ears with a grimy glove, leaving streaks of black across his cheeks. He sneezed, causing the dust and cobwebs to billow away from him. "Horrible, hellish place!" he cursed, resisting the urge to wipe at his eyes; the dust was making them water.

Fingering the hilt of his sword once again, he removed it from its cheap sheath and hefted its familiar weight.  Vex's real strength lay in his abilities as a mage, but he had used this particular sword long enough to become quite adept at wielding it and had found, in some cases, that he much preferred his trusty blade between him and an enemy than just his gloved hands.  However, his somewhat odd choice of weapons drew a bit of scorn from his acquaintances, especially those in the Fighter's Guild.  He was accused of being foolish for laying so much trust in a short blade when a longer one was twice as effective.  But to Vex, his wakizashi made perfect sense: it was lighter than any broadsword Fire-Eyes would have him equipped with and far easier to control.  Besides, Vex thought he looked rather dashing with it.

This new corridor led to an all too familiar end: another curving stairwell. Vex cursed loud enough to send his mono-syllabic utterance bouncing off the walls in a gradually diminishing echo.  Was there no end to this? Vex cursed again and stomped his foot against the dusty floor. Submerged, as he was, in his tantrum, he didn't hear the scraping trod of skeletal feet until the beast had let an arrow fly into his shoulder.  With a cry, Vex turned on the thing, lashing out with his recently enchanted blade.

He brought blazing iron down on a fleshless shoulder, sending fragments of white flying up at him.  They stung uselessly at his cheeks as he slashed again, procuring a sizable dent in the monster's empty ribcage. The creature hissed at him, its decaying teeth rattling in its jawbone, and strung another arrow, backing away from the incensed Dunmer and shooting the shaft directly at his head.

Vex had lunged forward when his assailant had begun to back off and the arrow glanced off his collar bone.  Ignoring the damage done to him, Vex lifted his blade, bringing it down with all his strength across the skeleton's neck, shattering vertebrae and sending the dislodged skull clattering to the ground.  The rest of the battered body followed moments after, seeming to collapse in on itself and tumble harmlessly into a pile on the floor.

Vex kicked the skull away from him and shuffled over to a corner, propping his torch and blade against the wall, he set to work removing the arrow from his shoulder.  Throwing the filthy shaft at the eternally grinning skull, he muttered a quick spell and waited patiently for his skin to re-knit itself and become whole.  He sat for a moment longer, resting with his head against the cold, earthen wall.  "Just a bit more," he promised himself, his voice scratching his dust-dry lips and throat.  "Just a bit more and I'll turn back.  It _can't_ go on that much longer."

The Dunmer hefted himself to his feet, lifting both torch and sword from their resting place and continuing on his blind trek downwards.

It wasn't long before Vex began to worry for his torch.  The flame had diminished to nothing more than a flicker and he knew it wouldn't be long before he would be submerged in complete darkness.  Vex was nervous and on edge, jumping at every slight noise he heard, or thought he heard, and yet he wouldn't turn back.  The hallways became less oppressive the higher up he went, but he couldn't give up now; he had come too far to go home empty handed.

"Gods," he whispered, finding his current path come to a fork.  "What am I to do now?"  The young dark elf looked from pitch-shrouded path to pitch-shrouded path.  There was no way to differentiate between them; each looked equally hopeless. "Fine," he hissed, his voice like venom on the heavy air.  "I'm through!" He turned back to glare at the way he had come.  "Are you happy? Bloody, awful, damnable place! I'm through with you! I'm going home!" He had started stomping back up the stairs he had just descended, oblivious to the tears of anger that trailed down his cheeks, mixing with the tracks of grime.  "Horrible, accursed place!"  Vex stumbled and caught himself against the wall.  He wiped his dampened eyes on his dirty sleeve.  

Leaning there, indulging in his self-pity, he barely heard the all-too familiar shuffle of feet as they approached.  More than one this time, by the sounds of it.  Vex set his jaw and straightened up, holding his pathetic torch higher to cast some light on his foes...  

The torch clattered to the ground as Vex bolted in the opposite direction, running senselessly downwards, letting the darkness consume him and hide him from the horde of undead villains behind him.  His labored breathing and heavy footfalls were not enough to cover up the scrabbling, frenzied, clawing of boney, rotting limbs as the creatures grasped for him.

How could there be so many? He had beaten at least a dozen on his way down, how could their numbers have nearly doubled?

Vex turned slightly, his lips burning with the lines of a fire spell as he cast, the magick spiraling outwards from his fingertips, flinging itself into the putrid mass in the tunnel beyond.  The few unlucky beasts cried out as their rotting flesh was lit up as bright as a signal fire and turned to black, crumbling ash even as they still pursed their prey.

Vex whooped in triumph and began to chant the spell again when he smashed straight into the end of the path.  "No!" he cried, scrabbling for some break in the wall.  His panic subsided a bit as he realized it wasn't a wall at all, but rather a door.  He reached for the handle and turned, finding the thing to be as tightly locked as a prison cell. 

The beasts were almost on him.  Their fallen, twitching and still smoking comrades had created a block in the path, and they were clawing through the bodies to get at him.  Vex dug in the folds of his robe for a scroll of unhinging (they were the only kind he had brought with him), secured one, and read off the spell, making the required signs in front of the door.  The hinges rattled as the scroll turned to dust and Vex groped for the handle, twisting it hard enough to break it from its fixings and flung himself inside, locking the door behind him.

He lay panting on the floor for some time, breathing in the dust and nearly choking on it as a result.  He turned over onto his back and listened to the sounds of chaos issuing from the other side of the door.  "Horrible place," he coughed, clutching his sword to his chest.  "Never…coming here again. 'll burn the whole damn place down as soon as I get out…'n piss in the ashes."  He was seized by another coughing fit and rolled over onto to his side to keep from spitting the grime-blackened phlegm onto his chest.

When the fit had passed, he lay as still as he could, noticing with lifting hopes that there were at least three lit torches in this room, and that there seemed to be no other inhabitants.  He smiled bitterly and closed his eyes, content to lay in this ancient, cold filth until his strength returned to him.

When the clawing at the door had been absent for some odd hours, Vex rose into a sitting position, rubbing his sore muscles and looking at the empty room around him.  From the looks of things, he had finally found the burial chamber he had been searching for the whole time.  He laughed without mirth and stumbled over to the stone coffin built out of the floor in the center of the room.

The lid was not that hard to remove and Vex managed it easily enough.  Tilting the thing onto the floor and waving away the cloud of dust that followed its landing, Vex peered over the rim of the coffin.

"…the hell?" he mumbled. "But Shah said the man had been dead for years…"  Vex stared quizzically at the corpse that looked as if it had been dead for minutes, rather than centuries.  His face contorted into a horrific semblance of anger and he kicked the side of the coffin.  "That fool woman gave me directions to the wrong tomb!" Letting out a string of obscenities that would put any Sadrith Mora sailor to shame, Vex proceeded to take out his anger on the hapless stone coffin.

Once he had tired himself most thoroughly, he kneeled beside the coffin, resting his sweaty forehead against its rim. "I came all this way for nothing," he panted, beginning to feel the ticklings of another bout of self-pity.

_Well_, mused the klepto side of his brain, _maybe not for nothing…_

Vex stood up again, gazing down at the corpse.  He looked like a wealthy enough man…Maybe he had some unique jewels Vex could pawn off. That, certainly, would be a better outcome than leaving with nothing at all. Vex steeled himself and turned away from the peaceful expression on the dead man's face.  He always felt bad when he stole from the dead.  He had done it plenty of times and had even killed with the sole purpose of stealing from his victim if the man had something he was after…or simply something that caught his fancy, yet he still found the act distasteful.  

Vex had done his share of good deeds, but he had also done his share of bad.  His small alchemist's shop back at Balmora had once been known as the Council Club until he murdered its six familiars.  They were all villainous people, actually, he had been hired by an Imperial guard to do the killing, but that still didn't excuse his actions.  In fact, his senseless desire to steal had gotten him kicked out of the room he was renting from Balmora's most notorious moon sugar addict. Yet, Vex didn't consider himself a bad person; he had his quirks just like everyone else.

Vex reached out with a trembling hand and began to unbutton the dead man's vest.  With that completed, he searched the vest for inside pockets; it had none. Feeling somewhat disappointed, Vex then started on the man's flowing white blouse, tugging it free of his leather breaches and running his gloved hands through its folds, again finding nothing.  The Dunmer grimaced, not looking forward to what he was about to do next, and leaned down to run his hands along the man's legs, looking for any weapons in his belt or pouches tied to the insides of his thighs.  Finding the same there, Vex huffed angrily and lifted the man's legs one at a time, looking under them for some heirloom wrapped in the cloth placed under the not-as-stiff-as-it-should-be body.  

Vex uttered a noise of disgust.  Did this man's relatives and friends care so little about him to just bury him without any finery at all? What stingy people…

The Dunmer looked to the peaceful face once more.  The man had been a handsome one, with high cheekbones that spoke of good-breeding and a smooth, dark complexion.  His facial structure and skin tone suggested that he was at least half Dark Elf.  Maybe the second half had been Bosmer, or Redguard even.

Vex shook his head to return his mind to the task at hand and climbed into the coffin with the unnamed dead man.  "Sorry about this," he grumbled, lifting the man into a sitting position.  A strong smell of earth filled Vex's nostrils as the body tipped forward onto his shoulder, the heavy, long-locked head falling next to his own, its cold skin brushing against his neck.  Vex flinched and pushed back the sudden spell of nausea that gripped him.

Securing his grasp on the man, he tugged the body forwards enough to expose the part of the blanket that had been bunched into a makeshift pillow under the dead man's head.  Vex freed one arm and prodded around under the blanket, lifting its folds until the stone of the coffin became visible.  Sighing in defeat, Vex slid back against the opposite end of the coffin, trying to ignore the heavy corpse in his lap.

"So it was all a waste…" he mumbled dejectedly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back against the hard stone. Vex lay like that for some minutes, letting the chill from the dead man seep into his flesh. Utterly disgusted with his failure, he was content to just sit and wallow in self-pity, cursing the absent-minded necromancer for sending him into this hell.

Finally deciding that he couldn't stay down here forever, Vex pushed the man off of him, setting him back against the blanket, and climbed out of the coffin.  He moved to retrieve his short blade and one of the torches, turning once again to the door.  He hadn't heard anything from the other side of it for some time, yet that didn't necessarily mean nothing was there.

Vex was just about to remove the lock when he heard a small noise, like a rustle of fabric.  At first he thought it might be his undead pursuers on the opposite side of the door, but reconsidered when the noise came again.  Vex slowly set the torch down and tightened his grip on his blade.  Turning back to the expanse of the empty chamber, Vex narrowed his eyes and scanned it, hoping the cause of the sound was just a mouse, or something else equally harmless.

The Dunmer perked his ears at a sound that could only be described as an intake of breath.  He squared his shoulders, holding his blade at an arm's length in front of him. He passed the coffin without sparing it a second glance, keeping his eyes trained on the shadows on the far side of the room.  He strained his vision, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that would dispel his (hopefully) needless unease. 

Long, cold fingers curled around his elbow, pulling him backwards against the coffin.  The stone rim hit the backs of his knees and he tumbled over it, landing in the quick embrace of the dead man.   Vex squeaked in surprise, thrashing out with his blade while simultaneously trying to right himself.  A strong grip closed around his wrist, pressing in just the right place to make him drop the sword.  Vex opened his mouth to recite a summoning spell but an earthy palm closed around his lips.

Upside down in the coffin, with his only means of defense stripped from him, Vex thrashed and kicked and scratched at the hand covering his mouth with his free arm.  However, the dead man quickly stilled his every form of complaint with a rough shake that caused Vex's head to bash against the inside of the man's thigh.  The Dunmer gurgled something unintelligible and tried to regain his senses as the corpse flipped him upright, maneuvering Vex until he faced him. 

Slanted, yellow eyes blazed at him with stunning intelligence.  Lips slow with death moved into some semblance of a grin and the corpse's earthy breath washed over the shocked Dunmer.  "Be still and I will have no reason to hurt you," the words were, surprisingly, elegantly formed; very unlike the sluggish moans that most zombies uttered.

Vex stared at the man, red eyes wide and frightened; he had never been taken so easily before. Had he let his guard slip that much? What was this beast going to do to him?

The man ran a finger down Vex's dirty cheek, smearing grime down to his jaw bone before passing that boundary and streaking his exposed neck.  Vex closed his eyes, desperately trying to think of something that could get him out of this mess.  "No reason to hurt you at all…" the man's voice was becoming heavy, as if he was drugged or drunk with sleep.  He moved his hand from Vex's slack mouth and positioned the youth between his legs, pulling at the Dunmer's robe.  "Just be still…" he mumbled, leaning towards goose-bumped flesh, "It'll all be over in just a moment."

Cool breath rolled across his skin and Vex squirmed, too stunned to do much of anything but lie against the man's chest and tremble.  _Now!_ He urged himself, _Summon now!_ But thinking and acting were two different processes altogether and, currently, Vex only had the presence of mind to do one of the two. "I…" he mumbled, scrabbling at the man's shirt.  "Stop…" his tongue was heavy in his mouth and his whole body felt suddenly weaker, as if he was caught in some illness.  Had one of the undead he fought before given him some disease? Was that why he couldn't fight back?

Vex whimpered as the man's lips brushed his neck, moving in silent reassurances.  "I just need to feed," he whispered, ripping at Vex's robe until the entire left side hung loosely down to his waist.  The rip of cloth seemed impossibly loud to Vex and he jumped, inadvertently bringing his skin in accessible reach of the dead man's teeth.  The Dunmer gasped as twin fangs sunk into his neck, boring as far as they could into his flesh.  He went limp in the man's arms, squinting his eyes closed and biting down on his bottom lip.  The thusly revealed vampire cradled the Dunmer in his arms, sitting back in a more comfortable position.  He removed his fangs and began to suck at the puncture wounds, one stray hand curling in his prey's hair.

Vex felt himself being lulled into some kind of stupor.  As he waited for his death, he felt his pulse slow back to normal and his breathing become less frantic.  His muscles relaxed and untied themselves from the knots they had worked themselves into.  His eyes fluttered open and he watched the movements of the vampire's throat as he drunk down his blood.  Vex clutched at the creature's shirt and moaned unwillingly as a rough tongue moved in circles over his skin. _S'not…half bad…_he relented in his dazed state, curling like some whore against the cold body that held him.  

The vampire's free hand moved down Vex's back and began tracing senseless little patterns on the loose cloth of his robe, lulling the Dunmer even deeper into his stupor.  Vex shed the last chains of consciousness and pulled himself closer to the demanding maw, drifting to sleep even as the vampire still fed.

When Vex awoke, he was met with a groggy confusion.  It took him quite a while to remember where he was, and why he was draped across some man like a living blanket.  Said man grinned at him as he stammered and tried to back away, finding himself to be too weak to even sit up without swaying.

The vampire reached up to brush Vex's bangs from his face, causing him to flinch and duck away, which in turn caused him to loose his balance and tumble sideways out of the coffin.  He hit the cold floor and grabbed for his forgotten sword, stumbling over to the door, which promptly issued a hungry growl as soon as he reached it.  Startled, Vex fell back on his ass, blinking stupidly when the vampire came to squat next to him, lifting his torn robe back onto his shoulder and patting him in a friendly gesture on the back.  

"A few of your undead friends returned while you were sleeping," the vampire explained, steadying Vex when he swayed again.  "I'm afraid I might have taken too much from you; you'll have to forgive me for that.  But I don't believe I've fed for some time."  The vampire had captured a lock of Vex's hair and was stroking it with his thumb. "You wouldn't know what the year is, would you?"

"Ehh…" Vex uttered, completely taken off guard. Your enemies weren't supposed to be _nice_ to you…

"Can you stand?" asked the vampire, abruptly changing the subject.

Vex shook his head. Should he be looking for a way to escape?

"Come on, then," the vampire lifted Vex to his feet, reaching for his sword and sheathing it for him, making sure he was balanced before leaving to get a torch.  He smiled graciously at the confused elf before saying, "Let me just take care of your friends and we can be on our way."

"We?" Vex whined.  "We?"

The vampire opened the door.

He had never stood a chance, Vex realized, watching the man as he systematically took down every single undead creature that presented itself to him.  He did it with such precision, with such ease that, if Vex were to attack him later, he was sure he would be taken down in a matter of minutes.  The Dunmer gulped and waited for the last skeleton to clatter to the ground in its usual scattering of bones.  The vampire turned back to him, dusting bone fragments and splatterings of gore from his shirt. He offered Vex his same smile and bowed slightly.  His message had been made: Vex wouldn't fight him any more, not if he was content to live.

Vex leaned heavily against the other man as they reached the top of what seemed to be the millionth stairwell.  "And you came down all this way to rob me?"

"Not…t' rob you…" Vex panted, ashamed of how weak he had become.  "Needed…skull…Wrong tomb…"

"Well…that's certainly an unforgiving mistake."

"Shut up," Vex tried to pull himself up, hating how he had to cling to this…this parasite's side.  He cursed under his breath as his legs gave out on him.  The vampire caught him before he could hit the floor, but Vex didn't care, he was so mad at himself.  Why hadn't he just turned back sooner? Why did he have to try to rob the damn vampire? Why did he agree to this job in the first place? He hated tombs! He hated night, the undead, being weak…  Angry tears seeped from his eyes and he pushed his dirty fists against his closed eyelids.

The vampire set him down and plopped down beside him, combing gentle fingers through his hair as he sobbed.  Vex hated for anyone to see him weak, to see him cry, let alone someone he still considered his enemy.  He tried to push the vampire away, but the man just retaliated by scooping Vex into his arms and standing up, continuing onwards.  

"Put me down," Vex demanded, still trying to stop his tears.  He was just so angry... Dammit, why did he always have to feel so sorry for himself?  The Dunmer hiccoughed and hid his face in the vampire's loose shirt.  Why couldn't he hate this man as much as he wanted to?

"I think we're almost there," the vampire told him in a reassuring voice.  Vex just nodded, sniffling and hiccoughing as his sobs subsided.  "Do you…" the vampire ventured, "remember which tomb you were supposed to find?"

"Yeah…Veltier, I think." Vex's head, which still rested against the vampire's chest, was bobbed up and down as the man chuckled.  Vex glared up at him with swollen eyes. "What? Does that mean something obscene in some ancient language, or something?"

"No, boy," the vampire said, "You didn't have the wrong tomb after all."

Vex froze, gaping unbelievingly at the grinning face above his.  This was just great… "You bastard!" he cried, punching the man half-heartedly in the chest. "Why couldn't you have just been dead like you were supposed to?"

"Oh, but you're forgetting, I am dead."

"I didn't mean that," Vex growled, trying to keep his anger in check.  "I don't think my employer wanted a skull with a body still attached," he mumbled.

His dejected comment was met with more laughter.  "Cheer up, now, everything's not all lost."

"What do you mean by that?" Vex asked skeptically.  If the guy offered him immortality, he was going to beat him soundly with the nearest discarded pelvic bone he could find.

"Well…" the vampire said, "you get a free ride," he looked down at the querulous burden in his arms, grinning at it warmly. "And, a personal body guard."

Vex winced. "You mean you're going to follow me around? Even after we get out of this place?"

"Just for a while," the vampire promised.  "I don't know how long I've been down here and I'm going to need a guide as well as…" he trailed off.

"Food, yes, I believe I'm already acquainted with that part."

"For a whiny little brat, you sure do have a wonderful sense of humor."

"I'm not whiny!" Vex protested, scowling at his newly appointed 'body guard.'

The vampire just grinned.

"It's night," Vex sighed, closing the door behind him and collapsing into a pitiful little heap on the floor.  He was completely exhausted and just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.

"We can keep moving then," the vampire said, stretching.  

Vex watched him with slight interest.  The man was well-muscled, not bulky, but taunt and obviously strong.  He was also quite tall, with long dark hair that hung in dusty strands over his shoulders.  He grinned at Vex with his toothy smile and animal-yellow eyes.

Vex growled at him and got to his feet, shaking himself to dislodge a bit of his stupor.  "What am I to call you, then?" he asked irritably. "Vampire? Body Guard? What was it…Veltier?"

"Jerrith will do fine. But what should I call you? Brat, Boy, or Lunch?"

"You're such a comedian.  You must have been a jester while you were alive."

"Well? Name?"

"Vex," he was loathe to say it, to tell this unholy creature his birth name, but he saw no other way out of it.  He was not walking all the way back to Balmora, or wherever they were going, being called 'Lunch.'

"Vex…" Jerrith tried out the new syllable.  "It fits you…Though I had you pictured as an Oscar."

"Oh, hah hah. Do you do nothing but talk?"

"Of course not," the vampire replied, striding forward and hefting Vex over his shoulder as if he was nothing more than a sack of saltrice. 

The Dunmer protested half-heartedly as Jerrith carried him out of the cloying air of the tomb and into the fresh evening.

"I'm not sleeping here," Vex declared, crossing his arms over his chest and sniffing at the abandoned egg mine.

"Why not?" Jerrith inquired, pulling his head out of the open doorway.  "It looks perfectly fine to me."

"Because I slept in a cave all this morning and I couldn't even move to take a piss because your legs are so damn heavy."

"I had to make sure you wouldn't escape somehow."

"I'm not sleeping here," Vex said again, glaring at the rotting door the vampire stood next to.  "I've been down in a tomb for days, Jerrith. I want to sleep in a real bed, in an inn.  Pelagiad isn't that far away; we could reach it before sunrise."

"I've been down in that tomb for centuries, and you don't see me complaining."

Vex sniffed again, sensing he was loosing.  "You could have left at any time. You just…"

"I've already told you, Vex, I was imprisoned there.  I couldn't leave until some mortal was foolish enough to set me free."

Vex glared at the vampire, glared at the mine.  "I'm not sleeping here."  He started to turn, tired of the injustices constantly thrown upon him.  Jerrith grabbed his arm, jerking him back around to look him in the eyes.

"I have to feed tonight, Vex," he informed gravely, watching to see how well his captive took it.  The Dunmer's face seemed to go blank and he looked away, suddenly finding his mud-coated boots to be very, very interesting.  "I've only fed once since I've woken up.  I'm practically starving.  If I wait any longer I might…kill you."

Vex gulped.  "We could still…Pelagiad is just over that hill…"

"How would we explain sleeping all day, Vex? How would we explain why you're so weak the next evening? I know you don't care if I'm burned at the stake, but I've just had my freedom returned to me, and I don't intend to give that up just so some brat can sleep with a pillow under his head," he was practically hissing at the end of his speech and Vex flinched away from him.  Did he really want the vampire dead?  He would be free but…

Jerrith tugged him toward the mine, pushing him through the open door and locking it behind him.  

They walked in silence for some time.  Vex could practically feel the vampire's anger and it was making him uneasy.  Would Jerrith kill him now?  His bare neck ached in the cold of the underground; the small puncture wounds were swollen and throbbed and Vex wanted to scratch at them but feared an infection.  He hadn't washed in days and all sorts of grime and muck was caked to his gloves and smeared over his skin.  He envied Jerrith for being able to stay so clean.

They hadn't come across any kwamas yet, which was a testament to the mine's age; it had to have been abandoned some time ago.  Vex wondered if it was safe to be down this far.  If the mine was really as old as it seemed, wasn't it likely to collapse at any minute?  He slowed his pace a bit, looking worriedly from one dripping wall to the next.  His unease peaked when Jerrith placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him enough to make him cry out.  The sound echoed harmlessly down the tunnel, but Vex remained frozen, knowing the ceiling would collapse on them at any minute.

The vampire circled him, coming to stand in front of him and placing a hand on either of his shoulders.  Vex still watched the ceiling for signs of a cave-in. "I didn't mean to get mad at you…" he started, mistaking Vex's silence.  "I just…vampires…get cranky when we're hungry."

Vex finally looked away from the ceiling, grinning viciously he said, "Kind of like women during their cycle?"

Jerrith returned the grin, his eyes glinting somewhat nefariously. "Kind of like that."

Vex held his gaze for as long as he could, only turning when he thought he wouldn't be able to keep standing if he stared into those golden irises anymore.  "So…Where do you plan to make me sleep tonight? Amidst a pile of empty egg sacs? In a crate of mining equipment?"

"Of course not," Jerrith clapped the Dunmer on the back, steering him forward. "You get to sleep with me."

"Under your legs?"

"Under my legs."

"Oaf."

"Brat."

"What do we do if the mine collapses while we're sleeping?" Vex worried, still reluctant to join the vampire on the floor.  He knew what was coming next and he was not looking forward to it.

"Well…I imagine we won't have long to worry about that," Jerrith said sagely, stretching out on the mildewed pallet.  "Now come here, you're making me nervous."

Vex walked over to the cot and kneeled in front of the vampire, waiting with his hands in fists on his knees.  "I hope you appreciate this," he grumbled.

Jerrith wrapped an arm around the Dunmer's waist and scooted him closer.  "Believe me, I do."  The vampire pulled Vex between his knees, brushing the youth's disarrayed hair from his shoulder and running his cool fingers over the old wounds on his neck.  Vex shivered.

The vampire bared his fangs, breathing his earthy breath on the tortured flesh.  Vex felt his every nerve on-end.  The small hairs on the back on his neck bristled as Jerrith leaned closer.  He waited for the quick piercing, the light pain… Instead, the vampire's warm, wet tongue slid over his skin, causing him to jump and draw in a quick breath. Jerrith didn't touch his wounds at first, but rather the inflamed skin around them.  He nibbled at the Dunmer's chilled skin and sucked at random patches, causing Vex to clench and unclench his fingers around the vampire's shirt.

It was perhaps only minutes before Jerrith touched the puncture wounds, running his tongue over them once before reopening them with his fangs, but to Vex it felt so much longer.  Even in this haze he realized how utterly sexual the whole thing was, but, strangely, that didn't bother him as much as the fact that he…liked what Jerrith was doing to him.  Shutting his mind to the onslaught of conflicting thoughts, Vex leaned into the vampire's chest, breathing in his earthy scent and letting himself be drawn into the same euphoric daze.  He sighed as Jerrith withdrew his fangs, kissing up Vex's neck to his jawbone, curling his fingers in the Dunmer's dark, unruly hair.  Only half-thinking of what he was doing, Vex arched against the vampire's touches, mumbling something unintelligible.  

Jerrith changed positions, pulling Vex into his lap and moving back to the seeping wound on his neck, lapping at the warm crimson as it dribbled down his skin, mixing with old sweat.  Vex's moans were muffled by the soft fabric of Jerrith's shirt. He clutched it helplessly as the vampire sucked at his neck and traced his quivering body with cold fingertips.

Lost in the waves of unceasing sensation, Vex hardly noticed when Jerrith slid his robe down to his waist, lapping and nipping at the newly exposed skin. The Dunmer moved his grasping fingers from the vampire's shirt to his hair, twisting and twining them in its dark mass.  He gasped as he was bit again, just below the left nipple.  He murmured the vampire's name and tilted back his head, squeezing shut his eyes and fighting back unconsciousness.  Something in the vampire's bite left him intoxicated and drowsy but he couldn't surrender to sleep just yet; something was nagging at his mind.

"Jerrith," he mumbled into the vampire's hair as that searching mouth moved even lower.  "Jerrith," he tried again, clearer this time.

Jerrith ceased his ministrations, turning blindingly bright eyes to the distressed Dunmer.

For a moment, Vex was lost in their depths.  He gazed into the little pools of gold until his wits had returned enough for him to continue.  He cleared his throat, suddenly finding the whole situation very…awkward.

"I…uhh…Are you…Is this necessary?"

The vampire flashed his trademark grin. "I thought you were enjoying it…"

Vex just glared at him, feeling heat rise in his cheeks, and pulled his robe back on as best he could.  "You said you were just going to feed, not molest me."

"Aye, and I would have stopped any time you had asked me to."

Vex sniffed, turning away from the still-grinning vampire.  "I'm going to sleep now," he announced, curling into a little ball on the foot of the pallet.

"Not there, you aren't," Jerrith grumbled, scooping up the sleepy mass of Dunmer and encircling him with his arms and legs.

Vex was content to just lie there, his head resting above the unbeating heart of the vampire.  He smelled better than the pallet, at any rate.  "What if I have to go to the bathroom?" he asked.

Jerrith sighed, "I thought you were going to sleep."

"Fine," Vex huffed, "I'll just pee on you if I have to."

"Oh, for the love of the gods, just get up and go." The vampire helped Vex to his feet and spanked him on the ass to get him to hurry up.  The Dunmer tottered over to a corner, quickly relieved himself, and hobbled back to the relative warmth of the vampire's arms.

"Thank you," he said stuffily, positioning himself with his back to the vampire's chest.

"You're welcome," Jerrith replied with a yawn, once again immersing Vex in the prison of his arms.

"We _are_ going to reach civilization eventually, aren't we?" Vex asked, rubbing at the worrisome wound above his stomach.

Jerrith turned to face him, stretching upwards and linking his fingers behind his head.  "I haven't decided yet.  The descriptions you gave me didn't make my choices seem very…hospitable…"

Vex snorted, padding over to stand next to the vampire.  "You actually expect there to be a town that would welcome _you_?

"I'm hurt," Jerrith replied, feigning offense.

"I'm sick of nature," Vex whined, ignoring him.  "Maybe these nightly strolls are all well and good for you, but I haven't been this sore my entire life."  Finally loosing his patience with the throbbing wound on his chest, Vex rubbed at it viciously, growling low in his throat as he did so.

The vampire sighed and grabbed a handful of the Dunmer's robe, yanking him closer.  He swatted Vex's hand away from his wound and rubbed the place himself; his sharp fingernails scraped lightly against the cloth.

Still unsatisfied, Vex grabbed the Vampire's hand, holding his fingers stiff, and raked the slightly pointed nails over the wound.  He hummed in a contented sort of way as the itch dissipated.  Jerrith chuckled at his antics and took over from there, moving up to scratch the Dunmer's neck.

"Is this common?" Vex asked, tilting his head so Jerrith could better access the bite mark.  "Or am I suffering from an allergic reaction?"

The vampire snorted.  "No, you're perfectly fine.  Though I admit," he added on second thought, "an allergic reaction would be somewhat…amusing."

"To you, maybe," Vex grumbled, finally pulling away from the vampire's touch.  "I want to take a bath, eat some stew… Hell, I'd even settle for hound meat."

"That can be arranged," Jerrith said, scratching at his chin.  "I believe we can find some Nix-Hounds around here somewhere."  He crossed the small fence separating the road from the more…untamed part of the countryside.

Vex followed after him reluctantly, mumbling to himself about being taken seriously at entirely the wrong moments.

The Dunmer watched Jerrith turn the spit with a wary eye.  The dead hound dripped blood and fat into the fire; the bits of gore popped and sizzled as they met the flames. Vex still couldn't get over the fact that the vampire had just hunted down his supper.  Sure, he had done that himself plenty of times, but the longer he spent in Jerrith's company, the more it seemed the vampire would make good on his "body guard" promise.

Vex just didn't know whether to feel happy or worried that he had a vampire at his beck and call.  More-or-less, anyway…

"I think it's almost done," Jerrith said, prodding at the roasting beast with a stick.  "It's a good thing, too.  We need to find shelter before morning." The vampire poked the carcass one last time before reaching over for Vex's blade, which he had used to skin the beast earlier.  He cut a sliver from the hound and passed it to the reluctant Dunmer.  Vex eyed the meat suspiciously, sniffed at it, and popped it into his mouth.  Jerrith watched him eat, sucking the grease form his own fingers.

"It's good," Vex relented, gesturing for another piece, which was promptly given to him.  

The vampire cut a piece for himself, sucking at the soggy fat.  "Even after three centuries, I'm still able to roast a decent meal."

"Don't flatter yourself," Vex grumbled sloppily around the slab of meat, "I said it was good, not orgasmic."

Flinging his half-eaten piece into the bushes in a quick movement of disinterest, Jerrith said, completely deadpan, "Ah, but I'm saving the truly orgasmic bits for later."

The elf sputtered and inhaled the chunk he had been chewing, getting it lodged in his throat.  He hacked and waved his arms helplessly until the vampire leaned over and whacked him hard on the back, sending the troublesome chunk flying into the fire.  Vex coughed a few more times before he composed himself enough to glare up at Jerrith.

"Do you enjoy tormenting me?" he asked harshly.

"I'm not a sadist, if that's what you're implying."

Vex sighed.  "I don't get a break, do I?"

"Not now, you don't." Jerrith stood, dusting off his pants and kicking dirt into the fire, effectively dousing it.  "Let's go; I don't believe you're too hungry anymore."

"At least this is better than the cave," Vex commented, stretching out in the cot.

Mere hours before sunrise, the unlikely duo had stumbled upon a minor settlement built into the side of a towering cliff wall.  It was simply initialed "PF," supposedly for whoever had first established it.  There were free beds and one or two of the dozen odd travelers there were merchants, selling rare weapons and foods.

Vex had spent the last of his travel money on some expensive candy and was happily munching it in his and Jerrith's private room.  (The pair had received many astonished, and in some cases envious, stares when Jerrith had requested they have a room to themselves.)

"I suppose," the vampire mumbled as a response to the youth's comment.  He was nervously pacing back and forth, glancing to the door every few minutes.

"Calm down, will you?" Vex complained, licking the sugar from his fingers.  "No one even guessed what you are; don't worry about it so much."

Jerrith turned his piercing golden gaze onto the Dunmer. "Nice of you to show your concern."

Vex snorted, climbing lazily to his feet.  "If it'll make you feel better, I'll guard you while you sleep."

"Oh, so you can call your friends downstairs as soon as I drift off? No, thank you."

"So that's what this is about," Vex grinned.  "You're just scared that I'll turn you in."

"Wouldn't you?" the vampire growled, still continuing his pacing.

The elf remained silent for some time, watching Jerrith so caught up in his senseless pacing.  "I won't," he said at last, deciding as he uttered it that he would hold this promise true.

But much to the Dunmer's annoyance, Jerrith ignored him.  "I shouldn't have come here."

"I said I won't reveal you," Vex announced again, striding over to the stressed vampire.  "I don't care about escaping anymore; I…I owe you."  It was difficult for him to swallow his pride like this, but he somehow managed to push his arrogance aside, set his jaw, and wait quietly for the vampire's reply.

"Hah," Jerrith exclaimed haughtily, "Like some selfish brat's promises mean anything to me.  You'd betray me as soon as you got the chance."

Vex held his ground, trying his hardest not to snap back at the vampire.  "I mean it," he said.  "Just let me try…"

Jerrith waved away his response, not even turning to look at the youth.  

"How do you know you can't trust me?" Vex tried again.  "Have I done anything to warrant this suspicion thus far?"

"Go to bed."

"If you don't give me a chance…" Before Vex could even finish his sentence, he found himself sprawled on the floor, his cheek stinging with a red vampire handprint.

"I told you to go to bed," Jerrith said, with just the slightest trace of malice in his voice.

The Dunmer stared.  _How _dare _he strike me?_ Anger coiled and twisted in Vex's veins and he grit his teeth and curled his hands into fists.  He had just been trying to help; to repay the vampire for his kind acts earlier.  Maybe he had been correct in his previous judgments: Jerrith was nothing more than a conniving, ungodly, parasite.

Vex hissed through his clenched teeth, glaring with barely contained animosity at the vampire who seemed completely unaware of the incensed elf at his feet.

Before he really knew what he was doing, Vex was on his feet, aiming outstretched hands at his ex-companion.  The spell snaked from between his lips, heavy and bitter-sweet as bile, lighting up his fingertips and twisting itself across the room towards the surprised vampire.

The magick hit him full in the chest, burning through his shirt and eating his flesh, ripping an inhuman howl from his lips.  Jerrith fell into a crumpled heap in the corner, shuddering and twitching in pain.  

Vex ignored him, grabbing quickly for his sword and other small belongings, stuffing them into the pockets of his robe.  He was almost to the door when the injured vampire uttered a pitiful moan, curling in on himself while simultaneously trying to keep anything from brushing against his wounds.

_Go!_ Vex's mind urged him, _He can't follow you like that! Forget about him and run!_

The moan came again and Vex dropped his blade.  Sighing, he tiptoed over to the vampire, who hissed horrendously at him when he approached.  Vex ignored the small noise of protest and squatted in front of him, digging through his belongings for a Restore Health Potion.  Satisfied with the large bottle he pulled from his robe, Vex pulled out the cork at the top and reached out to turn the vampire towards him.

Jerrith would have none of it.  Feeling horribly betrayed, he lashed out, digging three identical trenches in the Dunmer's outstretched arm.  Vex cursed and cradled his seeping arm against his chest, muttering a paralyzing spell before reaching out again and turning Jerrith over.  

The man glared at him with such hatred in his eyes that Vex had to look away.  He was always too hasty… _But he struck you first! _complained the argumentative voice in his head.  That didn't matter now, Vex realized resignedly.  Whatever chances he had at gaining this man's trust were gone now.  He'd have to leave before the paralyzing spell wore off just so he could keep his life.

Working slowly and gently, Vex spread the potion over Jerrith's wounds, watching as the new skin moved as a wave to cover the damage; healing and extinguishing the hurt.  

_Why does it matter so much that you gain his trust? Two days ago, you wouldn't have cared less._

Vex shook his head to dispel the thought and stood, leaving the second half of the potion next to Jerrith, should he need it later, sheathed his blade, and left the room. His feet felt impossibly heavy as he left the safety of PF, turning towards the sunrise and setting out on the path that would lead him home.


	3. Rendezvous With Death

**Baptized Unto Night  
****Chapter Two: Rendezvous with Death **

* * *

Balmora was just as he'd left it: quiet, sleepy, and seemingly ghostlike in the early morning fog. Sunlight glinted off the murmuring Odai as he approached; its calm waters had always been a reminder that he was close to home, yet this time, it felt like a hollow reassurance.

Few people were up and about this early, but Hul, homeless as she was, gave him her usual greeting at the south entrance. He returned it with a grin, ignoring the fact that the Argonian's somewhat strange welcome could also be taken as a threat.

Vex felt like heading straight for home (it was only a few footsteps away, after all) but instead started towards the Mages' Guild; he had a bone to pick with a certain necromancer.

Ranis was there to greet him as soon as he stepped in. The steward scowled disapprovingly at his attire and inquired in cut tones why he was in such a state. Vex mumbled a lame excuse and continued downwards, almost running into Tanis, a mage of the warlock level who happened to be gazing downwards at a book.

"Ah, so you _are_ still alive," the mage wondered, half-serious. "We were all beginning to worry."

"I'll bet," Vex scoffed, trying his best not to smile. Tanis was one of the few people he might have called 'friends' and well knew the workings of the Mages' Guild; their associates would have been just as happy had Vex never returned at all.

"Well," Tanis reconsidered, "Me and Ajira were worried about you. And Shah, too, for that matter. She must have really needed whatever she sent you to get. What was it anyway?"

Vex started walking again and Tanis fell into step beside him. "A skull. I couldn't find it, though. I…ah…met with a bit of difficulty."

"I'd say," Tanis snorted. "You look as if an entire flock of Cliff Racers had been pecking at you."

They rounded the bend and Vex spotted Shah. "I'll have to tell you all about it later," he promised, patting the older mage on the shoulder. "Stop by my place when you get done here." He didn't wait for his fellow's response, jogging forward to meet the surprised gaze of the necromancer.

"Annax!" the gristled old orc addressed him by his last name, steering him over to a bench in the corner. "But don't you look the weary traveler? Hurry, hurry! What's become of my skull? I should think you would have found it, considering your long absence."

"The tomb was robbed," the lie fell easily from Vex's lips. Jerrith deserved no help from him, but he deserved no trouble either. "It took me forever to get to the burial chamber. The place was in ruins; completely ransacked. I don't have the skull; it had already been taken."

"W-What?" the orc stammered. "You don't…" she trailed off, her expression flicking from disbelief to anger in mere moments. "Well! If you think you're getting paid, you're gravely mistaken!" She rose stiffly to her feet and stormed away from him.

Vex had expected as much. He sighed and got slowly to his feet, wondering if he should stop by and see Ajira or just go home. He settled on the latter; he'd run into her eventually, anyway.

-  
-

Vex sighed happily, running his fingers through the warm water of the tub. (How he had longed for a bath!) The liquid was like silk against his skin, washing away the dirt and random flakes of blood (his and others'), and simultaneously calming his mind. He was at peace, if only for these few moments, and that feeling was truly a wonderful one…

The sound of the front door opening broke him from his reverie. "Vex?" Tanis called out, his footsteps quite audible as he descended into the room that had once served as the Council Club's bar.

"I'm back here," Vex announced, dribbling water unto his exposed knees.

Tanis peeked his head around the doorway, grinning at the sight of the younger Dunmer bathing in a rusty old tub amidst crates and baskets (most of which contained items Vex had pilfered.) "I see someone's happy to be home," he said, sitting on a crate that was relatively close to the tub.

"More than happy," Vex smiled and closed his eyes, leaning back against the rim of the large basin. Tanis chuckled, propping his feet up on the same rim.

Vex, though he wouldn't say so outright, was glad the older Dunmer had come. He knew he couldn't tell Tanis about his encounter with the vampire, but at least he had someone to keep him company, though Tanis was a rather strange choice for that.

Like Vex, he was a bit self-centered, though he tended to be a bit more on the stuffy side (but not nearly as much as some of the other mages Vex had come across.) He was also nearly ten years Vex's senior, being somewhere in his late twenties. Despite his relative youth, he was completely bald (Perhaps he shaved?). But to distract from this, he had tattooed his face with intricate, serpentine designs that kept your eye wandering. He had an average complexion for a Dunmer (just a bit darker than Vex's own gray-blue skin), a sharp nose, and somewhat large ears that dangled various golden rings and cuffs. He was handsome, by Balmora's standards (which wasn't saying much), but was too snobby and distant to really be called appealing.

Vex had first become acquainted with Tanis just moths before, when the mage had moved in with Caius Cosades (the moon sugar addict Vex had previously rented from). Tanis had lived with the older man ever since, and Vex believed (as did half of Balmora) that the two were lovers. Neither Caius nor Tanis did anything to disprove this fact, and Vex was content to let them be.

"So," Tanis said, scratching at his thigh, "Where's this story you promised me?"

"It's not as interesting as you think, believe me."

"Well, I came all the way out here to hear you gripe so come on," he prodded Vex's shoulder with his foot, "start complaining."

Vex flicked a few droplets of water at the man before he started. "I found the tomb Shah gave me directions to easily enough," he said. "After that, it was just mindless hours of zombie-slicing and skull-hunting. You couldn't even begin to imagine how many of the damned beasts there were."

Tanis picked at a piece of leftover lunch stuck beneath his thumbnail. "I told you not to take any jobs from that woman," he reminded.

"And for once I should have listened to you," Vex grumbled. "I couldn't even find the skull. The damn orc wouldn't pay me."

Tanis tsked. "Ah, the woes of the wayward adventurer…"

The soaking Dunmer snapped his teeth at the comment, unappreciative of the humor. Tanis just rolled his eyes at the action. Further annoyed, an evil thought seized Vex's mind and he stood up suddenly, showering the older mage with dirty bath water.

Tanis sputtered and glared up at the grinning and triumphant (albeit naked) Dunmer. "Was that really necessary?" he asked gruffly, wringing water from his previously expensive robe.

"I'd say so," Vex replied, further dampening his companion as he shook his head, spraying the man with shimmering droplets.

"Hmph. Vex, you're such a child. Now go," he waved his hand at the still-dripping youth, "fetch me a towel."

Vex obliged, chuckling to himself as he padded over to one of the baskets, procuring two white cotton towels and tossing one at his friend. He quickly dried himself off and tipped over the tub, spilling the water into the drain he had had specially installed. With the towel wrapped around his waist, he left Tanis to his complaining and went in search of a clean pair of pants.

-  
-

It didn't take Vex long to settle back into his old routine. He did odd jobs for the Thieves' Guild and a few of the Imperial guards (mostly Vorro up at Moonmoth) but never ventured that far out of Balmora. Soon enough, he had saved up a sizable amount of money. He wasn't sure what to do with it just yet, but he kept working all the same.

At night he'd go down to the Southwall Corner Club to share a few drinks with his 'friends.' He was underage but Phane paid that no mind. Vex and the bartender had required each others services too often for the man to impose such a law. Despite this, Vex never went home drunk. Caius was enough of a boozer for their entire table, anyway. Vex pitied Tanis for having to deal with the man.

But between working and wasting time with Balmora's other outcasts, Vex sat alone in the old Council Club, either dozing or catching up on his reading. (He had dozens of books that he had stolen that he had never even opened.) Tonight, though, he had decided to use some of his accumulating supplies and make a few potions. It was cheaper than buying them from either Ajira or the town's alchemist and he could sell whatever he didn't need.

Chewing on a piece of scrib jerky, Vex watched the black anther he had prepared start to boil. He turned down the flame a bit and added a handful of gravedust he had brought back from Veltier's tomb. He didn't care what the result was; he just wanted to keep himself busy. Vex stretched in his chair, reaching up to scratch at the long-healed spot on his neck. The bite mark was no longer there, but the memory still stung. He sighed. The night was long yet, and he didn't need to start thinking about _that_.

Vex turned off the flame and left his failed potion to cool; he'd dump it out in the morning. Not really sleepy, but too tired to stay awake, Vex walked to his bedroom, flinging himself heavily unto the bed. He lay with his face in his pillow and kicked off his shoes, sighing into the soft fabric.

The truth was, he was bored with his life, with the ugly monotony of it. He had considered moving to a bigger city, Vivec maybe, but that plan was always refuted. He loved Balmora, and couldn't fathom leaving it. But at the same time, he was going crazy living like this.

Vex bit his pillow, chewing angrily at the stuffy cotton. He could always join the legion; Fort Moonmoth was close enough. But what if they stationed him in Pelagiad? Or Sadrith Mora? Vex shivered at the thought. Aside from the tamed length of the Odai that flowed straight through the center of Balmora, Vex hated large bodies of water, and could never live on an island.

So what was he to do, then? Rekindle an interest in the Mages' Guild? Take up sewing? Vex snorted and turned over, ignoring the slobber he had left on his pillow. Vex had never gone beyond the rank of Apprentice in the Guild. When he had started out, it had been Ajira giving him his duties, and her sporadic errands had been simple and had allowed him to explore the countryside (which at that time had been mostly unknown to him). Once he had surpassed her, it had been Ranis he reported to, and Vex had quickly grown to dislike the power-hungry elf.

Most of her tasks had been to kill off fellow mages that were a threat to her or her position as steward, and Vex cared little for that power-struggle and had thusly left, occasionally running errands for the other stewards if he got the chance.

No, Vex decided, he didn't want to get mixed up in that again; neither did he want to be a clothier. That job was even more boring than what he was doing currently. Besides, Cain, a wood elf that occasionally drank with them, had some weird vendetta against clothiers and would most likely assault him if he were to take up that position. (Cain had already been charged with harassment and attempted murder against Balmora's clothier, and would most likely have been shipped off to jail if not for Phane's skills of bribery and persuasion.)

With those ideas shot down so easily, Vex was left with nothing.

The Dunmer wondered if he had been this discontent before he had left on his failed skull-quest. If memory served him correctly, he hadn't, and that bothered him. Had Jerrith really had that much of an effect on him?

-  
-

"I just don't get you Khajiits," Caius mumbled incoherently, gesturing with his half-empty tankard at Ajira. "Why d'ya always talk about yerselves in the third person?"

The Khajiit in question quirked her ears in confusion. "Ajira doesn't know what you mean, Caius-friend."

"Like that!" Caius exclaimed, looking to each face at their table for agreement. Vex had to keep from sniggering; an hour into the evening and the man was already drunk.

Tanis ignored him and rubbed his temples while Cain watched the cat-woman quizzically. "You guys do talk about yourselves in the third person," he realized, only fueling Caius' drunken excitement.

Vex snorted and drained what was left of his drink. "I think I'm going to go home early," he announced, feeling sleepy after a long day of running messages for Vorro. Various valedictions followed his exit.

-  
-

Vex entered the Council Club with a long-suffering sigh, leaning back against the door as he shut it behind him. He had yet to solve the problem of what he was going to do with the rest of his life, and every new day he spent doing the exact same things he had the days before, the more he ached for change. Pushing the familiar thoughts from his head, Vex descended the stairs into the main room of the Club. The numerous candles scattered throughout the room flickered and cast their meager light. Wax dripped onto haphazardly-placed piles of books and onto wooden tables. The two nameless skulls Vex had nabbed from the Mages' Guild in Caldera smiled at him in welcome from their perches on opposite sides of the room. Vex paid them no heed, moving on into the room and sliding his new robe from his shoulders. It pooled onto the floor, leaving him in just his boots and breeches. Vex left the robe where he had dropped it, moving into the storage area and poking around for something suitable to eat.

He settled for half a loaf of bread and moved back into the main room, sitting at the cluttered table in the center and pushing aside a pile of crumpled paper. Vex turned around, leaning back against the table, and munched his bread, looking out over the room. It took him a minute to realize at what he was looking, but Vex eventually stood and trod over to stare at the potion that hadn't been sitting on his counter when he had left that morning. The Dunmer stuffed the last of the bread in his mouth and scrutinized the potion. He figured that Tanis must have left it, but why wouldn't the man have said anything to him? _Perhaps it just slipped his mind_, Vex mused, lifting the potion to eye level. It appeared to be a restore health potion, but Vex could make those himself; why would Tanis have given him one?

He popped off the cork, swirling the liquid inside and sniffing it. Everything appeared to be normal except that the bottle was only about half full. Vex was already stripping down and slipping into bed before a mellowing thought struck him, and he began to reconsider who might have left the bottle, all the while keeping in mind his parting gift to the vampire.

-  
-

It wasn't long after that that Vex's suspicions were confirmed. Reports began coming in of murdered or wounded travelers. The occurrences were so far apart that it stirred little other than rumors at first, but then, one victim (with enough presence of mind to speak clearly) began screaming 'vampire.' That was it for Balmora; its citizens picked up the cry and soon enough, ordinators were called up from Vivec, and the elfin guards started patrolling the streets alongside the Imperials from Moonmoth.

The ordinators began their hunt for the vampire by locating all of its victims, and interrogating them, before finally burning them to death. The ordinators were not taking any chances; whether the victims were diseased or not, they were still burned.

Weeks went by and still the vampire hadn't been captured. Balmora had stilled, as if frozen, and its citizens hid it their houses or with friends, trembling long into the night.

_Has he come back to kill me?_ Vex wondered alone one night. _Was the potion a warning?_ The young Dunmer was plagued by so many conflicting thoughts that he could hardly dwell on one for longer than a few minutes. He wanted contact with the vampire; he was sure of that. Jerrith had affected him somehow and Vex couldn't go back to his old life until what passed between them had been settled.

-  
-

One night, when Tanis and Caius had come over, not wanting their young friend to be alone when such a _monster_ was on the loose (Vex was a bit annoyed by this), a messenger came from Moonmoth, proclaiming that the vampire had been captured.

Vex had remained silent, mute to his friends' relief. Whatever threat Jerrith had posed had just been nullified, but so had Vex's chances at getting his life back.

"They're planning to burn it," Tanis said, stepping back inside after dismissing the messenger. "The ordinators want the whole damn town to come out and watch. Barbarians, the lot of them."

Caius nodded but looked intrigued by the whole affair; it wasn't often one got to see ordinators in their full glory, downing heathens. Vex felt sick; he had never imagined things would end up like this. "Well," he said at last, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Let's go then, shall we?" Without even waiting for the other two, Vex ascended the stairs and opened the door to the chaos outside.

"This is wrong," Vex murmured, gazing up at the struggling red-head being tied to a stake. The girl was sobbing and fighting the guards as best she could, adamantly claiming that she was no vampire.

"You're right," Tanis agreed quietly, leaning down to whisper discreetly in Vex's ear. "I'd like to see what proof they have that she's the one."

Caius shook his head. "Ordinators need no proof, remember that, Tanis. Both of you'd be good to keep your thoughts to yourselves, being so close to men who could have you up there with her in the blink of an eye."

Tanis quickly righted himself and firmly shut his mouth, though his hands were clenched into fists at his sides. He was a coward, but a righteous coward; such an unlucky combination.

Vex wasn't so quick to give up. He knew that the vampire they were after was Jerrith, and that this girl was completely innocent. With this knowledge, he could not let her burn. But, luckily for him, Vex had been born under the sign of the Shadow, which had given him some unique abilities. Weaving through the crowd, quickly loosing Tanis and Caius who had followed after him, Vex tapped one of those abilities, drawing on the power of his Birth-Stars and disappearing into the very air.

Invisible, the young Dunmer snuck past the ordinators up to the platform where the girl struggled. Guards had already started towards her with torches in hand, sending her into a most outstanding frenzy.

Vex walked around behind her and set to work on her constraints. His spell wouldn't last that much longer and he had to hurry, but her persistent struggling wasn't helping. A guard lit the straw at her feet and she let out a horrendous screech.

Flames ate away at the straw, slithering closer and closer to the girl. She still persisted with her cries of innocence, straining against the ropes that bound her. Loosing patience with the whole situation, Vex pulled a small dagger from his boot, the metal quickly becoming visible to a few of the sharp-eyed ordinators. Those that noticed the 'floating' dagger made the connection and immediately stormed the platform, arriving too late to catch the 'vampire' and invisible fiend before Vex cut her restraints and dragged her off the platform, straight through the wall of fire.

The flames did little but annoy the Dunmer, but they caught on the girl's skirt and pricked her skin and she cried out again. With the ordinators hot on their trail, Vex steeled himself and flung them both into the Odai, dragging the girl down the length of the river to the muddy shore just beyond the city. Townspeople and guards alike yelled after them, and some still pursued.

Sputtering water, the girl turned to him (he must be visible now) and gaped at him with wide eyes.

"We have to hurry," Vex told her, tugging at her arm. "They'll be on us soon; we have to find shelter."

The girl nodded in confusion but followed dutifully behind him as Vex led her across the two wooden bridges and ducked into the brush, tearing through knee-high weeds and skinny trees. Angry voices and footsteps followed behind them for what seemed like miles before finally subsiding into the distance.

Vex stopped, dropping the girl's sweaty palm and collapsing into a heap on the ground, holding his pounding head in his hands. The girl remained standing, hovering disconcertingly behind him. She mumbled what could have been thanks and Vex nodded vaguely, desperately wishing for his heart rate to return to normal.

"Damn," Vex panted, "I don't know how you got yourself into this mess, but it was a helluva lotta trouble getting you out of it." He pressed his index and middle fingers against his temples, wondering why this headache had come up so suddenly; it was hard to think. The girl, meanwhile, remained mute, most likely still in shock. Vex ignored her for the moment, concentrating on collecting his thoughts.

Damn, but he always acted too rashly. Not only had he just exiled himself from Balmora, but he had some sniveling, traumatized girl to look after. Where were they going to go? How long could they keep running before they were caught? The pounding inside Vex's skull increased and he groaned, rubbing his knuckles across his forehead.

What was worse, a very angry vampire was loose somewhere in this region, most likely looking for him this very minute.

_Why the hell did I have to play hero?_

Vex's thoughts catapulted from one side of his skull to the other. Placid musings and frantic revelations rolled in waves behind his eyeballs, and it was almost too much for him. The randomness of the thoughts that seized him was inexplicable, and he was beginning to seriously doubt his mental stability. But then that thought was whisked away and replaced by another, which was in turn usurped by a fleeting remembrance of Jerrith. Right before this latter image could be swept away, Vex grasped at it, holding the single memory tight in an effort to calm the storm of his mind, even if it was only with a replay of that night at PF. Jerrith paced restlessly back and forth, so nervous and ill-at-ease even though he had given no reason for anyone to be suspicious of him…

From this memory was built a timid musing: _Strange then, that he should be so careless now, this close to an Imperial fort; this close to so many people. When I told him about Balmora before, he refused to go there. Why would he come all the way up here, risking his own neck, just to get back at me? Why…_

The pain in Vex's head had increased to an almost unbearable keening, and he cried out, getting quickly to his feet and looking around for the girl. He needed help…

There she was…standing behind him as she had been all along. Vex started towards her and the pain increased, sending him to his knees. He called out to her and she strode forward, grabbing a handful of his hair and tilting his head up to look at her.

Her lips moved in silent casting and her eyes shone golden in the softening moonlight. Vex's mouth went dry as he watched her, knowing that he had blundered again and wondering if his death would be too painful.

-  
-

A quick boot to his ribs woke Vex the next evening. He looked up with unfocussed eyes at the sharp face of an ordinator. He stared, puzzled, at the other man until the boot came again, knocking the wind out of him.

"Up, boy!" commanded the elf. "You've got a long walk to Balmora ahead of you so you better get moving!"

Vex obeyed, not liking the prospect of more kicks to his sore ribs, and tried to get to his feet, quickly finding that task to be more daunting than he'd first thought. His body screamed in outright pain as he leaned against the stone wall for support. His head spiraled and his vision blurred. What had they done to him?

No…that wasn't right… What had _she_ done to him? He tried to ask the guard but the man just yanked him forward by a chain that had been fastened around his neck. A similar device encircled his wrists and Vex could do nothing but follow along behind, confused and hurting, and only vaguely aware that a stake was being wheeled on a platform some feet in front of them.

-  
-

Balmora was a writhing, hissing mass of enraged bodies, all of them only-too-eager to kill the pitiful captive with their own hands. They spit at him, swung at him, and cursed his very existence, but to Vex, the whole thing was like watching someone else's memory. He didn't feel real, he didn't feel alive; he merely felt like an empty shell, or a manikin animated, made to walk through this curious tide of hatred.

He had realized some time ago that they were going to kill him, but that knowledge hadn't completely registered yet. It was there, and Vex could ponder it to his content, but it meant nothing to him. The infuriated faces of people he used to call friends meant nothing to him. Naught was the bite of the metal chain into the torn flesh around his neck, and naught was the steaming pain reeling from the flab of ripped skin that hung loose at his shoulder. Vex's present existence all rolled down to one thing: walking obediently behind the ordinators in front of him, thusly keeping from any further pain.

Vex didn't think, he moved, and familiar pain coursed through his body like a living being. His death loomed up in front of him but Vex could do nothing but approach it with glazed eyes and a gaping mouth; blood and slobber dribbled down his chin.

A pair of guards hefted him onto the platform and chained him to the stake. He noticed that one was Vorro. The man was as gentle as he could be but he didn't meet the Dunmer's eyes. Vex watched the man leave with a sort of vague interest, as if he had nothing better to direct his attention to.

Straw was piled around the base of the stake; it pricked Vex's skin and made him squirm. One of the guards took pity on him and rubbed the irritated skin till he was chastised by another officer. Vex knew most of these men, and could tell that they loathed to do this to him, but that knowledge changed nothing. Vex was too dazed to care, anyway.

When the straw had been laid, one of the ordinators gave a cut speech, condemning Vex for assisting a vampire, a heathen. The man pointed out Vex's pain, his reward for his troubles.

Even while the man continued to speak, the torch-bearer approached, bending down and lighting the straw. This would be a long death, Vex realized; it took a lot for fire to hurt him. The Dunmer watched with lifeless eyes, gazing down at the flames that quickly licked up to his ankles, tickling at the abused skin. Vex sighed in a mildly contented sort of way; at least the itch was gone.

At that moment a cry went up from the crowd and Vex looked out upon the sea of faces, searching for the voice of protest. The ordinators were looking for the speaker as well, ill-intent boiling beneath their helmets. It turned out that it had been Tanis, which surprised Vex, even in his dazed state. The mage was wrestled to the ground by the guards, his tattooed face shoved roughly into the dirt.

Vex's attention was soon drawn back to his current predicament as the fire had caught his breeches and flamed up his legs, eating up his clothes and scorching his skin. It was minutes before any real discomfort began to set in, and by then the fire had reached up to his chest. But Vex didn't cry out until the flames touched the loose flab of skin at his shoulder; the exposed tissue had no protection from the fire. The blood from the seeping wound began to boil and Vex's shredded flesh blackened with ash. He sobbed in pain, choking on saliva, blood, and smoke.

There were more protests now ("He's only a boy!" "He didn't know what he was doing!") but Vex didn't hear them, thrashing and shrieking and drowning in his hurt.

Then, in a quick flash of movement, the crowd went from incensed to confused to terrified and men and women started dying. First were the ordinators, drowning in their own blood as they tried to cry out. The next that fell were the closet to the burning platform. Red washed through the crowd and ran into the shimmering Odai, staining its placid waters.

And then, Vex's pain disappeared, leaving him altogether as he gazed into a warm pair of golden eyes, sighing as strong arms stole him away from the embrace of the fire.


End file.
